Somali resistance fighters are continuing their campaign against the US-backed transitional federal government based in Mogadishu.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
02:14 Mecca time, 23:14 GMT
Sporadic clashes rock Mogadishu
Opposition fighters have waged a fierce assault to topple the African Union-backed government
At least eight people have killed and 17 others injured in the Somali capital after the al-Shabab anti-government fighter group fired mortars at the airport and presidential palace.
The attack on Saturday prompted a response from African peacekeepers.
The assault took place as Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the Somali president, arrived from the Kenyan capital Nairobi after a meeting with Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, police said.
Most of the fatalities occurred in the capital's teeming Bakara market.
"The rebels fired mortars at the airport and the presidential palace when the president arrived and the government forces responded," Mohamed Ali, a senior police official, told the AFP news agency.
"Eight civilians were killed in the market and 17 others taken to hospital," Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu's ambulance service, said.
Clinton promised to increase arms to war-battered Somalia and further support for African peacekeepers guarding the area around the presidential palace in Mogadishu.
She said the US has provided nearly $150m to the African Mission in Somalia in the past two years and planned additional funds in the coming months.
Somalia has been mired by unrest since 1991 and is currently in the grip of a fierce violence, with opposition fighters waging a campaign to topple the African Union-backed government.
Source: Agencies
No comments:
Post a Comment